Sutton: BedZED - Leading the way in eco village design

The eco-village of BedZED was initially developed with the ambition of becoming carbon neutral. Seven years after its completion, studies have revealed that BedZED's basic formal and material designs have vastly helped in working towards this goal while its many green technologies seem to have been less effective.

If everyone in the world lived like the average North American,
we would need five planets-worth of resources to subsist. Three
planets would suffice if everyone lived like the average European
but this is still a sure shot away from the one planet that we
inhabit. It is with this knowledge that the environmental
organisation BioRegional has formulated
the ambition of
OnePlanetLiving and has attempted to demonstrate how such a
lifestyle is possible in projects such as BedZED. Developed in
cooperation with The Peabody Trust and Bill Dunster Architects,
BedZED is a residential area south of London that is
located on an original brownfield site that used to be a sewage
plant. The development project was initiated with the goal of
producing as much energy from renewable resources as it consumes.
However, according to the architects behind BedZED's creation, we
can never produce enough green energy to cover the current global
level of consumption. It is therefore necessary to not only
increase green energy production but also to dramatically limit the
consumption of that energy.

BedZED is the result of holistic planning. Every detail of the
development is designed to make it easier to lead a sustainable
lifestyle than it is lead an unsustainable one. Elsewhere on
this website we describe
the green transport plan and the lifestyle-oriented approach
that BedZED takes, which ensures that residents are involved and
are contributing to the project's sustainability. However, the
basic design of BedZED's infrastructure and the methods used in its
construction are also key factors that make the development as
sustainable as it is. All of BedZED's homes are fitted with
low-energy lighting and appliances, have roof lights, and have
several windows that face south, which allow the dwellings to
maximize their intake of sunlight. Additionally, each housing unit
has a conservatory: a large glass area towards the top of the
structure that provides natural heating by retaining thermal solar
energy. The dwellings are also heavily insulated so that they can
retain the heat produced from kitchens and bathrooms and use it to
bring the entire unit to a good level of thermal comfort.
Furthermore, solar cells and wind turbines provide electrical and
thermal energy and add to the long list of technologies that BedZED
uses, including water-saving devices and rain collectors.

You don't need to be a sustainable idealist or fanatic to
live at BedZED since much of the initial design ensures you
that you live sustainably just by being there. According to Bill
Dunster, you can even be an 'eco-sloth' and still achieve
significant carbon savings.

"...there's already a big difference between the environmental
impact of the eco-sloth in our BedZED and the environmental impact
of a typical UK family in traditional housing. Our eco-sloth is
already down to two-planet living" - Bill Dunster, 2005.

In 2007, studies showed that the electricity consumption of the
average BedZED citizen was 45% less than that of the other
residents of Sutton County. The heat consumption was 81%
lower and the use of water was reduced by 50%. Also, it is
important to note that BedZED had produced much of the heat and
electricity it used from wind turbines, solar panels and biomass
burners. However, it seems that advanced technologies like these
caused the most problems in terms of lessening BedZED's carbon
footprint and the biomass burner resulted in especially large
problems. The development originally had its own combined heat and
power plant (CHP) and, after a promising start, the efficiency
of this advanced technology started gradually declining, resulting
in a shift from 80% of BedZED's energy produced from renewable
sources in 2003 to 11% in 2006. A similar problem occurred with the
development's "Living
Machine", an innovative water treatment system that filters
wastewater for use in toilets and irrigation. In combination with
rainwater collection, it was estimated that the system could save
each resident 15 litres of water every day but, since 2005,
the Living Machine has been out of service due to lack of
maintenance.

In spite of this, BedZED continues to excel in low energy
consumption. Although the development has not yet managed to
produce enough renewable energy to sustain local consumption
and a global BedZED would still require two planets, it still
illustrates that carbon emissions can be drastically reduced if
simple attention is paid to formal and material design.

CHP (Combined Heat and Power Plant)

A CHP is a not exactly a common sight in Britain and,
traditionally, such facilities were more prevalent in colder
regions of the world such as Scandinavia. The advantage that a CHP
has over an ordinary power plant is that, after material is burned
to generate electricity, the heat that is given off is retained for
use elsewhere (as in heating buildings). BedZED's plant is
specifically fuelled by woodchips - a theoretically carbon-neutral
energy source since the CO2 emissions from the burning are
cancelled out by the fact that the tree supplying the wood absorbed
CO2 in its lifetime. Despite the novelty of this system, technical
problems have forced BedZED to draw much more of its energy from
the public electricity supply.

The main problem, according to Dunster, is that the authorities
did not want to be responsible for maintenance. In 2003, BedZED
covered 80% of its energy through its "local" production, which
includes wind power, solar cells and the CHP unit. As of late 2005,
though, the CHP has been deficient and, in 2006, only 11% of local
energy consumption was covered by renewable sources.

Living Machine

The Living
Machine is a biological system for wastewater treatment that
mimics the water purifying functions of wetlands. A number of
living creatures ranging from plants, bacteria, algae and plankton
to snails, clams and fish are included in an artificial ecosystem
that accepts and processes sewage. With each organism
adhering to its own specific cleansing function, the system can
filter the sewage to produce water that is useable in toilets and
irrigation as well as plants that can be harvested for compost.

Like the CHP, the Living Machine requires constant maintenance
and, since the system was not properly budgeted in BedZED, it has
been inoperative since 2005. Due to BedZED's low water consumption,
it was not possible to agree on a contract with the management of
water supplier, Thames Water. According to Thames, such an
agreement requires a minimum use of 50,000 cubic meters water per
year and consumption at BedZED is usually around 6,000 cubic
meters. Ultimately, it turned out that the Living Machine's energy
consumption for pumping and aeration was unsustainable at such a
relatively small scale such as that of BedZED. In fact, when
consumption is not higher, it is both more economically and
environmentally sustainable to connect to a central water
supply.

Key Learning Points >

Sustainability can not be achieved solely through an increase in the production of green energy. It also requires a sharp reduction in the energy consumption.

BedZED is designed to reduce the consumption of energy. Buildings, traffic plans and infrastructure are all planned in relation to this goal.

Energy efficiency in buildings and infrastructure ensures significant reductions in the use of electricity, water and heating. At BedZED, the level of consumption is respectively 45%, 50% and 81% lower than the municipal average.

City Facts >

Project Facts >

BedZED was built between 2000 and 2002 and contains 82 homes and 1,405 square meters office space. The development is situated on a brownfield site which used to be a wastewater plant.

BedZED is developed as a partnership between BioRegional Development Group, Bill Dunster Architects, the Peabody Trust, Arup and the cost consultants Gardiner and Theobald.

BedZED is constructed from renewable materials such as wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and sourced from within a 60 km radius.

Insulating the buildings properly was a top priority and 30cm of insulation wraps all portions of the building which are not glazed. In addition, thermally massive materials are used in the homes to act as thermal sinks.

Facts for Thought >

“There is - in no way, shape or form - enough renewable generating opportunity to ever meet current energy demand from renewables – ever, ever, ever. You have to get a 70% to 80% load-reduction first - through energy efficiency and microgeneration - and then the green grid can work” – Architect Bill Dunster, 2006

Related Facts >

BedZED aims and achievements

Electricity. Target: 33% reduction compared to UK average (14 KWh/person/day). Results: 2003: 25% reduction. 2007: 45% reduction compared to Sutton average - calculated in relation to households which on average are slightly smaller in BedZED compared to the rest of the borough.

Solar cells. Objective: To generate enough electricity to power up to 40 electric vehicles for 10.000 miles a year (88 Mwh/year). Results: 2004: 10.5% (31.2 Mwh/year). 2007: 20% - The figures refer to the total electricity demand in BedZED. Since there is only one electric vehicle on site, the goal was changed.

Meet leading Danish and international architects and professionals, create potential networks and acquire important knowledge about the architectural, construction and innovative industries though seminars, publications and case studies.

THE BEST VIEW OVER COPENHAGEN HARBOUR

UNIQUE LOCATION FOR MEETINGS AND
CONFERENCES

We provide professional conference facilities and you will have the
opportunity to visit our changing exhibitions, and enjoy a light
lunch or a cup of coffee and a cake in our café on the first
floor.

TEACHING ARCHITECTURE

We offer courses for different age groups in connection with
Danish Architecture Centre's temporary exhibitions. The activities
are suited to varying target groups depending on the type of
exhibition and wherever possible the courses include hands-on
activities for children. The courses can also be conducted in
English.